Yachts & Yachting magazine December 2022

THEY SAY THAT YOU know you're geting old when policemen start looking young. That might be true but to me a still more accurate gauge is when technology starts to completely baffle you. This has already happened to me sadly and I am regularly left scratching my head as I'm guided through the latest piece of navigation software by some enthusiastic marketing representative. My general tactic is to emit a series of enthusiastic yet noncommittal 'hmmm's', and do all I can to stifle any yawns. It is perhaps for this reason that my own boat remains stubbornly technology free, boasting nothing more than a depth sounder. In general this is sufficient but I am well aware that others might find this Luddite approach both annoying and perhaps even a touch…

Join us at the British Yachting Awards Voting is still open for our British Yachting Awards until midnight on Sunday 6 November – and Sailing Today with Y&Y readers can book limited tickets to the event via a link below. We organise the awards annually with our parent company Chelsea Magazines to celebrate the best of the racing and cruising worlds. It’s up to you to decide the winners – you can cast your votes after persusing the nominations, listed online at britishyachtingawards.com. There are categories for the best new boats launched in the last 12 months, the best pieces of new sailing kit and clothing, the best marinas, as well as categories that recognise personal sailing achievements. The winners are announced and trophies presented on 28 November, at an exclusive ceremony at the Royal…

ClubSwan 41 The ClubSwan 41 is the latest in the new generation of one-design racers launched by the Finnish manufacturer. The boat sits between the ClubSwan 36 and 50 in its range, and promises a similar blend of amped up performance combined with dramatic looks and potential for extremely fast cruising. Like the other boats in the range, the 41 is designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and will compete in ORC Category B. As you’d expect, the boat is very light at 6,200kg and also features a massive sail area with the mast stepped almost centrally allowing for a very large fore triangle. This is a serious racing machine but the interior remains important and Swan has worked with New Zealand studio Pure Design & Engineering and Lucio Micheletti to create a modern,…

‘The boat, having ridden over the other waves with little difficulty, was brought to a shuddering halt by this concrete-like wall of water’ Of all the sounds I’ve ever heard on a boat, the most terrifying is the shuddering ‘crump’ of a heavy wave cascading onto the cabin roof. I’ve only heard it once but it is truly nerve- shattering. I’m not talking about the harmless slap of what might be called an ‘ordinary’ wave against the topsides; I’m talking about that moment when your poor boat suddenly feels the true weight of the sea. It shakes you to the core. I’ve only felt it once, but it was memorable. I was hove-to in something a bit short of a gale, west of the Azores. The seas were far removed from that…

“More than races they’re, a festival of fun which also help promote the cities in which they take place” I’m half way through an eight-week tour of Europe which has been a good reminder of the full breadth and diversity of our sport. From commentating at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul and the Barcolana in Trieste, to the hardcore competition of the 470 Europeans in Turkey and Formula Kite Worlds and Europeans in Sardinia and Greece respectively. The Bosphorus Cup and the Barcolana are both big boat races but more than races they’re a parade of sail, a festival of fun which also happen to help promote the cities in which they take place. Sailing through the Bosphorus is a real treat, one that event founder Orhan Gorban created more than 20…

Leaving on any passage leaves me with a dry taste in the mouth, a pile of butterflies in the stomach and a lot of ticking off of checklists. The boat is stuffed from stem to stern with enough food for four ocean passages. We have enough spares to fix just about anything on board, though Sod’s Law dictates that the one spare we do need will be the one we omitted. It’s kind of endearing that, however many times we get ready for a passage, it is still a daunting experience setting off into the open sea on a small boat. The nerves get to you every time and the bravado on the dock is notably muted. The one item on a check-list that all of us keep looking at is…